Hi,

Can someone point me to the reputable research linking celiac with depression?

I have depression and, very likely, celiac as well and need to understand how much of the depression part can be attributed to gluten. My psychiatrist does not think much about it but she may be just ignorant in this particular area.

TIA, Eugene

I recently read material on this site: Depression and Celiac Disease.

Thank you very much for the reference.

Eugene,

Before jumping to conclusions, I think you need to get a firm yes or no on a Celiac diagnosis. I have read that irritability is one symptom experienced by some Celiacs and it wouldn't surprise me to find out that depression is more common in those with the disease as in both cases we are talking about mood issues.

Let me caution you on something else, as well. While it is true that Celiac disease has been linked to many other disorders, there is a human tendancy to see Celiac disease under every bush. It is not to blame for everything that goes wrong with us.

Steve

Steve is correct. However, I know from personal experience that I was very depressed when the doctor told me that my symptoms were in my mind and there was nothing more she could do for me. I was dying. I know how I felt and I was depressed. Sooooo, maybe in some cases it is related. Still I would check out the Celiac first. The depression improves on a gluten free diet.

There is a section in the book Dangerous Grains about depression. Maybe you could check it out at the bookstore and see if there is something you could use. It is only a couple of pages...but it is good info, and I am seriously thinking about making a photocopy of that info and giving it to my old psychiatrist.

In my case, celiac causes anemia, which causes depression. Treating just the anemia only helps temporarily. I have to treat the cause of the anemia (celiac) to really stop the depression.

I can attest to the depressive effects of gluten/wheat.

This is my first post here, but I read this thread and had to reply. I've been gluten-free for 11 months now--after having no help from doctors to treat my weird symptoms and head stuff/anxiety, even when I told them it appeared to be food related. They ran many tests, except for allergies, and always sent me home w/ a prescription for anti-anxiety/depression meds. I knew that wasn't my problem, and never took the drugs. I went off wheat on my own, realizing that every time I ate bread or pasta I was a wreck (bloating, icky stomach, palor, purple extremities, exhaustion, total feeling of unreality, etc). Then I started searching the web, and learned about Celiac Disease, found I fit so many of the weird, nebulous symptoms...and things started getting better...

Any time I accidently ingest gluten now, I get slammed with a depression out of the blue...it seems to follow a pattern of irritation, aggitation and negative thoughts that then quickly swells into a full-blown, pointless, bleak depression. And for me, tears. The brink of tears at the slightest thing. It's like taking a drug. I feel the negative head come on, and it's amazing to watch. The brain fog always comes with it. Knowing now where it comes from, it's a little easier to detach, and not respond to. But that doesn't mean it goes away. I just have to ride it out. Depending on what and how much gluten I've eaten, it can last from one or two days to a week. I try to explain this to people around me, but they don't seem to really get it. I know it's real. It's such an extreme shift. Total Jeckell (sp?)and Hyde.

I told an acupuncturist about this once, sort of sheepishly, thinking that she would just nod like others do and look at me strange, but her response was validating. She said that she sometimes prescribes Chinese herbs with a wheat base, that are supposed to be calming, and that she's seen them make some people "almost hysterical".

I realize this isn't the sort of science you were looking for, but I see that others have provided links to articles (I too have read many about depression and Celiac's, just on random searches), so I thought I'd offer this...

Good luck.

Prior to his celiac diagnosis in 2003 my husband was suicidally depressed. How much of this depression was due to feeling that getting his health back was hopeless and his situation being hopeless vs. the depression that naturally comes chemically with celiac, I do not know. All I do know is that when he went gluten free, from that point on, the depression lifted gradually. I no longer have to worry about him doing himself in. He was misdiagnosed for 27 years and had all classic symptoms of celiac - severe symptoms of celiac (extremely underweight, gas, bloating, weak, fatigued, etc.)

So for us, there is depression attached to celiac disease; perhaps not in all celiacs and probably not as severe as his.

I've read a lot of things linking celiac and depression. Maybe quickest and easiest, Celiac Disease: A Hidden Epidemic by Dr. Peter Green and Rory Jones has a checklist to help figure out if you should be tested. There are 3 categories, and one includes "psychiatric disorders or depression." So if you've had that plus any of the things in either of the other two checklists, they think you should be tested.

Anecdotally, I was always depressive until I went gluten-free. Nobody told me that depression was linked to celiac, so imagine my surprise when a few months later I realized that I was just bizarrely happy all the time.

I can't point to any research but it my family it was one of the first symptoms for 2 of us. It is also the first indication that we have been glutened. It is overwhelming and accompanied by some irritalbility but of short duration. We are "normal" and easy to get along with gluten free though.

Depression + Celiac's

I think one thing that has been over looked here, is that with Celiac's, it affects the body's ability to absorb nutrients from our food. So when gluten is ingested and we end with irratability and then depression, I think it results from a chemical imbalance due to the lack of nutrients.